December 09, 2022
Truancy plan dumps Ngāpuhi workers
Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi Ō Ngāpuhi has accused the Education Ministry of not consulting over changes to the way truancy will be handled.
Its kaiwhakahaere matauranga, Phoebe Davis, says the people that came up with the previous failed model have written the new one.
She says the ministry has split Ngāpuhi into five districts and put the onus back on schools to handle student absences.
“It goes against iwi boundaries, it doesn’t fit, you’re cutting us off in the middle… where is the discussion with us? These are our mokopuna – and when we’re part of the solution things happen. But you know, their whole rhetoric of “we know what’s best for you” is not working. And one size does not fit all,” Ms Davis says.
She says the plan means 10 highly trained and skilled Ngāpuhi workers will lose their jobs at the end of the month.